Boat anchor



Nov. 19, 1963 N. E. BURDEN 3,111,106

BOAT ANCHOR Filed Oct. 6) 1960 I a2 \\\\x\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\T l k l2 5 34 7' 22 38 *7 31 sl :sc/

INVENTOR. 23 23 2o NORMAN E. BURDEN ATTORNEY S United States Patent 3,111,106 BOAT ANCHOR Norman E. Burden, 14804 Braemar Drive, Cleveland 11, Ohio Filed Get. 6, 1960, Ser. No. 60,952 8 Claims. Cl. 114-208) This invention relates to boat anchors and more particularly to anchors especially suited for use by small pleasure craft.

Various parts of an anchor such as the fluke arms and stock, which provide the desired grappling and stabilizing structures for firmly anchoring a boat in position conventionally make the anchor very diflicult to stow, especially in a small boat. The fluke arms, and stock when positioned become easily fouled with other gear or parts of the boat itself. This invention overcomes this and other difliculties by providing an anchor that folds into an easily stowable package.

The anchor of this invention has a spaced pair of flukes pivotally joined to a shank adjacent the crown end. A stock is rnovably mounted on the shank between the crown end and the flukes. The flukes have a storage position paralleling the shank. When shifted from the storage to the anchoring position the flukes are pivoted in either direction until they engage the stock. The stock also has a storage position in which it parallels the shank and nests in a suitable slot on one of the flukes to lock the flukes in the storage position.

Therefore, one of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a novel and improved anchor which can be folded to a compact position for stowage and opened to an anchoring position for use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved anchor in which the fluke arms and stock can be folded together to form a compact package for stowage,

A further object of this invention is to provide a collapsible anchor having a stowage position in which the fluke arms and stock both lie along the shank with the stock positioned to serve as a clamp to hold the fluke arms in a stowage position.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved anchor in which the stock provides a locating stop for the flukes to maintain the flukes in an anchoring position against the pull of a boat when the anchor is in use.

A related object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved anchor in which the flukes may be pivoted from a storage position in either direction to an anchoring position.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an anchor in which the stock is positioned adjacent the crown end of the shank and between such crow-n end and the flukes.

A further, more specialized object of this invention is to provide an anchor collapsible to a stowage position in which both the fluke arms and tock are in a compact position paralleling the shank and in which the stock serves as a clamp to hold the fluke arms in the stowage position with one fluke arm disposed between the stock and the shank.

Still another more specialized object of this invention is to provide an anchor having an anchoring position wherein the fluke arms are at an angle with the shank and a stowage position wherein the fluke arms and stock lie along the shank.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the ac companying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the new and im proved anchor in the anchoring position;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of a new and improved anchor in the stowage position; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the plane represented by line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now to the drawing, the novel and improved anchor includes a rigid metal shank 10 having a crown end 11 and a ring end 12. Preferably, the shank 10 is formed of a fiat steel bar.

The anchor includes a pair of fluke arms 20, 21 having respectively fluke ends 22, 24 and connection ends 23, 25. A pivot pin 26 in the form of a rivet interconnects the shank 10 and the fluke arms 20, 21 adjacent their connection ends 23, 25. The rivet 26 holds the fluke arms in a rigid, fixed spaced relationship substantially parallel to each other and normal to the pivot pin. The rivet 26 is pivotally connected to said shank intermediate its connection to the fluke arms with the one fluke arm 20 disposed on one side of the shank and the other fluke arm 21 disposed on the opposite side of the shank. Thus, the fluke arms 20, 21 are connected to pivot together about a common axis, in parallel planes. The fluke arm 20 is formed with base 27, a lateral flange 28 and a projection 38. The flange and projection 28, 38 provide a channel 29 which will be described in detail below.

A stock 30 is provided having a generally cylindrical straight central portion 31 and first and second bent ends 32, 33. The stock 30 is disposed in a stockreceiving aperture 34 formed in the shank 1.0 intermediate the crown end 11 and the pivot pin 26. The stockreceiving aperture 34 preferably is parallel to the pivot pin 26 and normal to the planes of rotation of the fluke arms. The stock 30 is axially shiftable in the stockreceiving aperture 34.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, the anchor is shown in the grappling position. In this position the central portion 31 of the stock is disposed in the stock-receiving aperture 34 normal to the planes of rotation of the fluke arms and the bent ends 32, 33 of the stock are positioned on opposite sides of the shank 10. The fluke arms 20, 21 are at an angle with the shank 10 and their connection end 23, 25 about the central portion 31 of the stock thus clamping the stock in place to retain it in an anchoring position. A stop shoulder 37 is provided on the central portion 31 of the stock. This shoulder 37 abuts against the shank to limit the axial movement of the stock in one direction. A stop shoulder 35 is formed on the bent end 32 of the stock to limit axial movement of the stock in the other direction.

As indicated by the phantom lines of FIGURE 1, the flukes may be on the other side of the shank when in an anchoring position. When the stock is positioned with the central portion 31 normal to planes of rotation of the fluke arms 20, 21 the fluke arms can move into the anchoring position. The fluke arms will move to one side or the other of the shank. This movement will continue either under operator positioning force, the

force of gravity, or force from the pull of a boat until the fluke arms are against the stock. Thus the stock serves as a stop to limit pivoting of the fluke arms relative to the shank and thereby locate the anchoring position. When the anchor is dropped, the fluke arms inherently tend to move to the anchoring position even if they have not been properly positioned prior to dropping. The anchor Will land on the bottom of a body of water, fluke arms down. Pulling on the anchor line causes the fiukes to dig into the bottom of the body of water. Any further pulling, such as the pull of an anchored boat, will shift the fluke arms firmly against the stock to form a suitable anchoring position.

The'anchor can be collapsed to its stowage position as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. The fluke arms 26, 21 are pivoted until they are generally parallel with the opposite sides of the shank 10. The stock 30 is shifted to a position wherein the bent end 32 is positioned in the stock-receiving aperture 34. The shoulder 35 abuts one side of the shank preventing it from passing through the stock-receiving aperture 34. The central portion 31 of the stock extends into the channel 29 with the bent end 33 of the stock 30 positioned through the locking aperture 36. As thus positioned the fluke arms 20,21 and the stock 30 are in a compact position suitable for stowing with the fluke arms 20, 21 firmly locked in place by the stock 30.

:One of the outstanding advantages of this new and novel construction is the provision of fluke arms and a stock, each of which can be folded for compact stowage and which can be readily and easily opened for stabilized anchoring. :Hence, it is believed that the invention essentially comprises an anchor having the stock positioned between the fluke arms and the crown end and in which preferably the stock and the fluke arms are movable into a compact stowage position.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the. present disclosure of the preferred form has'been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

'1. A collapsible anchor having an anchoring position and a stowage position comprising, an elongated shank having a ring end and a crown end, at least one fluke arm pivotally carried by said shank near the crown end, said fluke arm being rotatable about an axis normal to the axis of the shank, the fluke arm lying along the shank in the stowage position and at an angle with the shank in the anchoring position, an elongated stock carried by the shank intermediate the fluke arm connection to the shank and the crown end, said stock being shiftable between a position generally normal to the shank in the anchoring position and a position generally paralleling the shank and abutting said fluke arm to lock it in said stowage position, and said fluke arm being abutable against the stock for limiting rotation of the fluke arm relative to the shank when in the anchoring position.

2. A collapsible anchor having an anchoring position and a stowage position comprising an elongated shank having a ring end and a crown end, a pair of spaced rigidly joined fluke arms pivotally connected to said shank near the crown end, said fluke arms being disposed on opposite sides of the shank, said fluke arms being pivotal together about a common axis normal to the axisof the shank, and fluke arms lying along the shank and closely spaced therefrom when in the stowage position and at an angle with the shank in the anchoring position, said shank having a stock receiving aperture intermediate the crown end and the fluke arm connection to the shank,

an elongated stock disposed in said stock receiving aperture and shiftable therein, said stock extending generally normal to the shank in the anchoring position and generally parallel and closely spaced from the shank and in abutment with one fluke arm for locking said fluke arms in the stowage position, and means to releasably secure the stock to the shank in the stowage position.

3. In the device of claim 2, said stock extending substantially parallel to the pivotal axis of said fluke arms and abutting the fluke arms when in the anchoring position. 1

4. A collapsible anchor having an anchoring position and a stowage position comprising, an elongated rigid metal shank having an integrally formed crown end and an integrally formed ring end, a pair of fluke arms each having a fluke end and a connection end, said fluke arms being disposed on opposite sides of the shank, a pivot pin rigidly interconnecting said fluke arms at their connection ends, said pivot pin extending through said shank near said crown end and providing a pivotal connection so that said fluke arms are rotatable together about a common axis, at least one of said fluke arms having a longitudinally extending channel, said fluke arms lying along and paralleling said shank in said stowage position and being at an angle with said shank in said anchoring position, a through stock-receiving aperture formed in said shank intermediate the crown end and the pivotal connection, an elongated stock disposed in said stock-receiving aperture, said stock having said first and second bent ends and a straight intermediate portion, one of said bent ends having an abutment shoulder formed thereon, said stock being shiftable in said stock-receiving aperture along the axis of said stock-receiving aperture, said stock being disposed in an anchoring position with said intermediate portion extending through said stockreceiving aperture normal to the shank and parallel to the pivot pin and said connection ends of the fluke arms, said intermediate portion of said stock abutting said connection ends of said fluke arms in the anchoring position, said one bent end being disposed in said stock-receiving aperture with said shoulder abutting the shank and said intermediate portion positioned in said channel for locking said fluke arms in the stowage position, and a locking pin aperture formed intermediate the pivot pin and the ring end, said locking pin aperture being positioned and sized to accept the other bent end of said stock when the anchor is in the stowage position.

5. An anchor comprising,

(a) an elongated shank having an integrally formed ring end and an opposite, integrally formed crown end,

(b) a fluke arm,

(0) means pivotally connecting said fluke arm to said shank between said ring end and said crown end for rotation,

(d) a stock carried by the shank between said crown end and the pivotal connection of said fluke arm to said shank,

(a) said fluke arm being rotatable between a storage position parallel to the shank and an anchoring posi- 1 tion at an angle to said shank; and,

(f) said stock being positioned to firmly abut said fluke arm in said anchoring position and limit the rotation of the fluke arm when in such anchoring 3,111,1G6 5 6 (f) the fluke having a storage position aligned with which are disposed on opposite sides of the stock and the shank; and, nivoted together.

(g) the stock and fluke including interlocking means maintaining the fluke in the storage position when References cued In the file 0f thls Patent the stock and fluke are in the storage position. 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 7. The device of claim 6 wherein said interlocking 558 389 Holmes Alp. 14 1896 means comprises portions of the fluke defining a channel 1 372259 g; g 1921 and wherein the stock is disposed in the channel when in 2170889 Allin 1939 i116 Storm 1198mm 2,279,302 {Craig Apr. 14, 1942 8. The device of claim 6 wherein there are two fiukes m 

1. A COLLAPSIBLE ANCHOR HAVING AN ANCHORING POSITION AND A STOWAGE POSITION COMPRISING, AN ELONGATED SHANK HAVING A RING END AND A CROWN END, AT LEAST ONE FLUKE ARM PIVOTALLY CARRIED BY SAID SHANK NEAR THE CROWN END, SAID FLUKE ARM BEING ROTATABLE ABOUT AN AXIS NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF THE SHANK, THE FLUKE ARM LYING ALONG THE SHANK IN THE STOWAGE POSITION AND AT AN ANGLE WITH THE SHANK IN THE ANCHORING POSITION, AN ELONGATED STOCK CARRIED BY THE SHANK INTERMEDIATE THE FLUKE ARM CONNECTION TO THE 